Against a backdrop of reduced supply volumes to Europe, Russian energy giant Gazprom increased gas exports to China by almost 61% in the first seven months of 2022 - but still had to cut its production.
"Gazprom produced 262.4 billion cubic metres of gas, down 12% [35.8 billion cubic metres] year-on-year, according to preliminary data," the company announced on its Telegram channel on Monday.
While domestic consumption remained relatively stable at minus 2% from January to July, Gazprom said demand from abroad in particular fell sharply.
The company puts the decline at more than a third (34.7 per cent). That is about 40 billion cubic metres less gas that Gazprom sold abroad. This is primarily due to the supply cuts to Europe, where Moscow has reduced gas exports via the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline, among other things.
The only positive development was in exports to China - via the Power of Siberia pipeline. However, the volume of Russian gas deliveries to China cannot be compared with the European market.
Gazprom exported only 10.39 billion cubic metres of gas via the Power of Siberia in 2021. In the same period, around 180 billion cubic metres was pumped towards Europe and Turkey.
